industrial lord

Chapter 693 Infiltration

A gentle breeze blew, shaking the branches, and a little sunlight leaked to the ground in spots.

Horse hooves crushed the moss, and the sound of copper bells floated in the woods.

"Are you sure you're on the right path?"

Frederick was a little worried. Getting lost in the forest was no fun.

Bell Burke said confidently, "You are on the right track. Look at that huge oak tree and turn right. I still remember it after all these years."

"We will see a black castle not far away. That is our destination."

The sunlight shone on the carriage, which was a bit dazzling.

Frederick looked at the white castle on the top of the mountain in the distance and said, "Either the castle has faded, or you fell asleep on the way."

Belle Burke laughed awkwardly, looked up at the sky and said, "The weather is good. It won't rain in the short term."

Frederick shook his head and drove on.

The white castle is located on a hill. It is not large in size. The main building has only three floors, and there is a five-story arrow tower on the side.

There was a pasture on the left side of the road where a group of sheep were grazing. A sheepdog ran to the side of the road and barked at the carriage.

The wheat field on the right is ripe, and the adult farmers are busy harvesting, with only the last small piece left.

In the distant woods, children were picking ripe berries in groups, carrying baskets.

The shepherd boy came from afar, drove the sheepdog away, and bowed to the carriage from time to time to apologize.

Belle Burke touched Frederick with his arm and whispered, "Look at his clothes."

The shepherd boy was wearing a sleeveless vest made of thick and strong slime tape with a mesh linen layer. "Urine" was printed on the back, and instructions for use were on the left side of the vest and storage instructions were on the right side.

Frederick just nodded. He had seen such clothes several times in the farms in Lukang and Hanma City.

People were all working outside, and the village was quiet. The only sounds could be heard were the cries of pigs, chickens and other livestock.

Frederick arrived at the church and saw the priest and some elderly people taking care of children, which was quite noisy.

There was a priest who looked to be in his twenties, teaching a few three to five-year-old children to read. There were literacy cards hanging on the blackboard. He read the spelling of a word once and then repeated it ten times.

When Frederick and Bellberk walked into the church, the priest looked at them, first puzzled, then startled, but when he saw Frederick shaking his head he calmed down.

As the two men prayed before the altar and threw a few large coppers into the money box, Belle Burke whispered to Frederick, "He recognized you."

Now Frederick has dyed his hair black, and Bellberk's is brown, so they must be acquaintances if they can be recognized.

Frederick whispered back, "Berket was once the top scorer of the Oak City Seminary football team, the winner of the Silver Boot Award of the Wheat Cup in 1033, the Bronze Boot Award of the Wesson Football League in 1034, and if he had not been seriously injured in 1035, he should have won the Golden Boot Award of the Rhine Football Championship."

Bell Burke nodded slightly.

The Principality of Wessen has been infiltrating everywhere, and the Oak City Seminary is its biggest helper. Students who graduate from there will tell their believers everything they saw in Wessenburg City, thereby influencing them subtly.

Apart from anything else, priests work part-time as doctors, and Oak City Seminary is a strategic partner of the Weisenberg Pharmaceutical Group. The medicine cabinets are stocked with everything from anthelmintic capsules from Pharmaceutical Factory One to calcium acetate calcium supplements from Pharmaceutical Factory Six.

Burkett let the children practice writing on the wax tablet by themselves, and then came to Frederick and the others.

He asked, "What is this brother's name?"

Frederick replied, "I am Baron Otto von Bismarck, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Weissenberg. I am now out collecting folk songs and came here by accident."

He pointed to Belle Burke and said, "This is my knight, Sir Oscar."

Burkett greeted the two men seriously and whispered in plain language: "Captain, I didn't expect you to come here in person." Frederick realized that something was wrong when he heard it, and also whispered in plain language: "I came here by accident, what happened?"

Before Burkett could say anything, there was a commotion outside the church door and two men came back carrying an unconscious old priest.

There was a busy scene in the church, and then the old priest woke up quietly.

Burkett asked hurriedly: "Father Raum, what's wrong with you?"

Raum sighed and shook his head.

The villager who brought him back said, "Master Buxar disagreed with ringing the Gleaning Bell again this year. Father Raum argued with him and was knocked unconscious by him."

Burkett frowned and asked, "What did Duke Cooley say?"

"We didn't see the Duke," said the villager.

Raum shook his head and said, "Forget it. I'll go talk to Buxar tomorrow."

The corner of Burkett's mouth twitched, and he finally sighed, looked at Frederick, and said, "This is Father Raum, my mentor."

He then said to Raum: "These two are guests, Baron Bismarck and Sir Oscar."

Raum immediately stood up and said, "Oh, so we have guests. I'm sorry to bother you."

"Burkett, go to the kitchen and prepare dinner, and open the best can of Wesson."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Bellberk and said to Frederick, "Please stay here. Duke Cooley is not convenient for entertaining guests."

Another villager nearby said, "Yes, Master Buxar will force you to stay when he sees a pretty girl, so you'd better not go."

Frederick had a general idea of ​​the situation.

In addition to the private fields cultivated by farmers, there are also public fields owned by the lord. After the wheat harvest, wheat ears will fall. Generally speaking, the lord will allow farmers to pick them up, mainly orphans and widows, and peasant women will also participate. This is a policy to relieve poverty.

There is a time limit for picking up wheat ears, which starts and ends when the lord rings the bell, and people call it the Wheat Picking Bell.

In addition to wheat, beans are also included, and in places such as the Duchy of Wessen, potatoes are also picked.

Generally speaking, whatever is picked up is yours. Some stingy lords will ask for 20% to 30% of it. It is rare to see someone not allowing anything to be picked up.

Today's dinner was quite sumptuous. Burkett stewed a pot of beer-braised sausage with smoked beef sausage, cabbage, parsley, garlic, onions, potatoes, salt, caraway seeds, black pepper, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and beer. He opened two cans of braised pork and paired it with the church's own pickled sauerkraut. The bread baked yesterday was still soft after steaming. The fig jam was just made the day before yesterday, and the beer was brewed by the church itself.

At the dinner table, Father Raum introduced the Duke of Cure to Frederick: "More than a hundred years ago, the Cure family was still a baron. Later, when they met the Emperor of the Osmaga Empire, they presented a large gift like everyone else, and thus obtained the title of Duke."

Frederick nodded. The nobles in the area east of the Elbe River had high titles, but their territories were generally only a few dozen square kilometers. It could be said that there were princes everywhere and princesses everywhere.

Father Raum took a sip of beer and said, "Ten years ago, the old butler of the Duke of Cooley died of illness. Not long after, a Sir Buxar came from the east to apply for the butler position."

"Although Sir Boxar's legs are a little lame, he is very capable. He first eliminated the wild wolves and bear spirits around him, and then led his men to repel a group of bandits."

"However, after the Duke of Cooley's eldest son disappeared eight years ago, the Duke has locked himself in the tower to pray and ignore worldly affairs. All matters in the territory are handled by Master Buxar alone."

Frederick frowned slightly, this was very much like a cuckoo taking over someone else's nest.

He asked Raum, "Has anyone seen Duke Cooley in these years?"

Raum replied, "I go to the tower every Sunday to lead prayers for him."

"Now the Duke's spirit is beyond worldly comfort."

Frederick casually agreed with a few words, changing the subject and asking indirectly how many guards there were in the castle.

(End of this chapter)